Sandhurst, Berkshire

For other uses, see Sandhurst (disambiguation).
Sandhurst

Daffodills in Ambarrow Court
Sandhurst
 Sandhurst shown within Berkshire
Population 20,803 (2001)
OS grid referenceSU836618
Civil parishSandhurst
DistrictBracknell Forest
Shire countyBerkshire
RegionSouth East
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town SANDHURST
Postcode district GU47
Dialling code 01344
01276
01252
Police Thames Valley
Fire Royal Berkshire
Ambulance South Central
EU Parliament South East England
UK ParliamentBracknell
List of places
UK
England
Berkshire

Coordinates: 51°20′56″N 0°48′00″W / 51.349°N 0.800°W / 51.349; -0.800

Sandhurst is a small town and civil parish in England of 7,966 homes and 20,803 inhabitants (2001 Census data), primarily domiciliary in nature with a few light industries. It is in the south eastern corner of the ceremonial Royal County of Berkshire, within the Borough of Bracknell Forest, and is situated 33 miles (53 km) south west of central London, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north west of Camberley and 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Bracknell.

Sandhurst is known worldwide as the location of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (often referred to simply as "Sandhurst", "The Academy" or "The RMA"). Despite its close proximity to Camberley, Sandhurst is also home to a large and well-known out-of-town mercantile development. The site is named "The Meadows" and has a Tesco Extra hypermarket and a Marks and Spencer, two of the largest in the country.[1][2] A large Next plc clothing and homeware store is open on the site of the old Homebase.[3]

Geography

Sandhurst
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Source: MSN Weather

Sandhurst is located at grid reference SU836618. Sandhurst is situated within the South East of England on the border of the Home Counties of Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey. The town itself consists of four main districts, from west to east: Little Sandhurst, Sandhurst (central) and College Town, with Owlsmoor to the northeast. North of the town are Edgbarrow Woods and Wildmoor Heath. To the east is Broadmoor Bottom, an expanse of heathland together with fir tree plantations. This eventually backs onto the high-security Broadmoor Hospital.

Sandhurst is bordered, on the south, by the River Blackwater, and several of the Yateley Lakes along its course are within the parish, notably Trilakes with its country park. This is also the county boundary with Hampshire at Blackwater. The town of Crowthorne is to the north, the village of Finchampstead to the west, and Camberley, across the Surrey county boundary, is on its southeastern side. This is the closest sizeable town, though Sandhurst is also only 9.5 km (5.9 mi) south of the new town of Bracknell.

The soil is sandy, with a subsoil of sand and gravel.

Communications

Sandhurst lies just off the A30, is close to junction 4 of the M3 motorway (3.4 miles) and within easy reach of the M4 (10.3 miles) via the Crowthorne bypass (A3095) to Bracknell and the A329(M) towards Reading. Sandhurst railway station is served by First Great Western, on the line between Gatwick, Guildford and Reading.

Local government

Sandhurst has representation through several tiers of government – town council, unitary authority, parliamentary (UK and European). Its Town Council is divided into four wards, Central Sandhurst, Little Sandhurst, College Town and Owlsmoor, all represented by twenty-four councillors. It is also part of the Bracknell Forest District. The ancient parish of Sandhurst also covered Crowthorne, until this became an ecclesiastical parish in its own right in 1874 and a civil parish in 1894. The current Mayor of Sandhurst is Councillor Philip Wallington.

History

The Church of St Michael and All Angels

Saxon and Medieval periods

The name of the village is Anglo-Saxon and originates from the sandy soils and the hurst (a wooded eminence) of the area. In early 14th century records, Sandhurst appears as part of township of Sonning, a large minster parish spreading over much of eastern Berkshire, which later became a hundred when its villages obtained their own churches.[4] These lands belonged to the Bishops of Salisbury. There were two manors in Sandhurst: ‘Hall’ in the grounds of what is now the Royal Military Academy and ‘Sandhurst’ on the site of Sandhurst Lodge. Nothing remains of the original buildings.

Tudor to Georgian periods

In the early modern era, Sandhurst parish was a small farming community on the very edge of Windsor Forest, Sandhurst Walke being an important forest division subject to forest laws.[4] Locals had the right to cut turf, bracken, heather and wood that was primarily cultivated to feed the forest deer. These were hunted by Royal parties from a hunting lodge in the vicinity of Hart's Leap Road.[4] A number of disputes are on record, showing how Sandhurst people sometimes took more resources than was allowed.

Farming has always remained a major part of village life here and some defunct farms are still remembered in the names of housing estates, roads and even a restaurant: Sandhurst Farm, Snaprails, Caves Farm, Ambarrow Farm, College Farm, Rectory Farm, Beech Farm and Rackstraws Farm. In the mid-16th century, William, Lord Sandys, the Lord Chancellor to King Henry VIII, owned a supposed manor called 'Buckhurst' in the area between College Town and Central Sandhurst.

Victorian and Modern periods

Life changed very little in Sandhurst until the 19th century when large sections of land were sold for the building of the Royal Military College, which moved from Marlow in 1812.[4]

The railway arrived in 1849 and a number of large country residences were subsequently erected in the area: amongst them, Harts Leap, Forest End, St Helens Upland, The Warren, Longdown Lodge, Ryefield, Snaprails, and Ambarrow Court. Sandhurst Lodge was erected in about 1858 by Robert Gibson and leased to John Walter, of the Times Newspaper, and then Sir William Farrer, solicitor to Queen Victoria and The Duke of Wellington. Perry Hill and The Ceders came later. Only a few remain today. The others have been demolished and land developed.

Such large houses and institutions, including the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane and Wellington College in nearby Crowthorne, led to a great expansion of the local population as people moved into the area looking for work. Further residential housing was erected for these workers, as well as more schools for their children, more places of worship and other community resources.

St. Michael's Church of England School, Little Sandhurst, was opened in 1862 and other schools followed in quick succession:

Until Sandhurst Comprehensive – now Sandhurst School – was built in 1969 in Owlsmoor, Secondary-age pupils were sent to Edgbarrow School in Crowthorne, Forest Grammar School for boys in Winnersh or Holt School for girls in Wokingham.

From the late 1950s to the 80s, large housing estates have been built creating the conglomerate town of today from the original four villages of College Town, (Central)Sandhurst, Little Sandhurst and Owlsmoor.

Recreation and sport

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ Marks & Spencer – Sandhurst, Bracknell Forest. Yelp.co.uk (15 May 2012). Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Meadows Shopping Centre. Meadowscentre.co.uk. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Bracknell Forest Council. "Planning permission granted".
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ford, David Nash (2001). "History of Sandhurst, Berkshire". Royal Berkshire History. Nash Ford Publishing. Retrieved 28 December 2010.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sandhurst.
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